Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note - Hakamori to Neko to Majutsushi

It's only an introduction so don't expect too much from that one episode by itself, the art and sound are good, the way they handle the characters and the link to Fate zero is well done, so personally, I'm definitely watching the series when it air.

That said the story of that episode is nothing great, it shows us that while Waver situation may have improved he still looks down upon by other mages and has made enemies some of it who even try to kill him, but nothing more.
Aside from Waver and Grey (his disciple), most characters are only introduced by their link to know ... characters or their position in the association.

But once again story or character development clearly are clearly not the goal of that episode which is just here to give a quick introduction on what happens to Waver, the situation with his disciple, the setting in general, and the art and sound; the rest can be left to the real show.

The atmosphere is also looking really good, kinda similar to "The ancient magus bride", and it's cool for once to get a Fate series not center on a holy grail war of some sort, since the only other I can think of are Kara no Kyoukai which is only loosely connected to fate and Fate food and Carnivals phantasm which are comedies.

Overall, I think it does a really good job as a teaser and introduction to the upcoming anime.

So, here's my review, before writing this, i've watched Fate/Zero, i've played fate grand order(here i'm talking reading his servant profile and playing through Fate/accel zero order) so i know additional background story about MC and his relations to referenced characters so you know- i can give a pretty decent evaluation of the story.

Story: 6
i'm giving it a 6 because although Fate tends to be pretty well set with story and lore etc, this show seems to not show that much continuity yet, as a standalone episode it had a pretty nice plot and it's nice to see our boi Waver do his thing in ... the clock tower for once, but i fear it'll become repetitive later on.
Art: 7
it's alright, i wouldn't call it foolproof but i liked how gray looked a lot and Waver, well he looks like waver... the people doesn't look completely dead inside and specifically the shadow shown later in the episode looked believable enough. the cars looked acceptable.
Sound: 8
nothing wrong here tbh, i would rate it higher if there was anything completely outstanding in regards to the sound, in fact it was just what i expected and i'm completely fine with that.
Character: 9
the characters really require you to have watched at least enough of fate/zero to know who Lord El-Melloi or Waver is because most of their backstory comes from there. but if you have watched that and knows how great a character he is you will understand how much i love waver as a character. I personally was a little disappointed that we didn't see more of him than we did back then.
gray is cool as hell imo i really look forward to seeing her character pan out, and why she is there etc.
those two kids, i really hated them during the first half of the episode but later on, when i saw their determination i grew to look past that as well.
Enjoyment: 10
this is a little biased like the other ratings actually but then again as a fate fan i really always loves to get a laugh out of an anime, and i got a laugh every time i saw waver be his usual "trying to be good at his thing but still fails" self.
overall: 8
it's decent, i'll say this now, the story doesn't seem so compelling as of now which i fear might actually be this series downfall because as my animu knowledge goes this has the potential to end in a repetitive format towards the middle of the series. but i think just because of the characters i'll end up seeing past that and enjoying the characters instead.

Reviewer's note: This is my 19th entry into the Fate franchise.


✪ Genre: action, contemporary fantasy, magic (spellcasting), seinen, superpower



◧ Animation: the series roughly follows the character design standards set by the previous studios, a combination of colors of moderate to low saturation/moderate illumination with the internal and external environments being more muted comparison. Even though the characters seem distinct enough, the series' entire 'atmosphere' feels a little more muted than usual.

◧ Character development: one episode cannot suffice in order for me to make an assessment, but the protagonist's character traits, temperament, self-image are roughly outlined through his interactions with some of the deuteragonists and through ... the use of biographical flashbacks.

◧ Soundtrack: seems to be comprised of orchestral music (violins, violas, percussion, flute, piano, etc.) with some of it being slower in tempo, while other pieces are more upbeat.

◧ Plot: it seems to pick up a decade after Fate/Zero in London, but there's nothing else to speak of besides the sense that a new antagonist may be lurking in the shadows

◧ Action sequences: besides 45" worth of a car chase, there's nothing much to speak off but it was choreographed well enough to warrant further engagement with the series.


Overall: A decent introductory special episode that does not really give me much of an idea as to what will transpire moving forward. 5.4/10